On this episode of Our American Stories, Christopher Columbus sailed west in 1492, convinced he could reach Asia across the Atlantic. He was wrong about where he was going, wrong about the size of the world, and yet skilled and determined enough to complete a voyage that would change it forever. Over four expeditions, Columbus explored the Caribbean, encountered peoples unknown to Europeans, pursued gold and converts, and struggled disastrously to govern the colonies he helped establish.

Laurence Bergreen, author of Columbus: The Four Voyages, shares the complicated story of the ambitious mariner behind the legend.

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